Easy Indian Cuisine at Home

Disclosure: I am participating in this campaign as a member of the World Market Ambassador Program. I received compensation in the form of gift cards, but all opinions are my own.

I was not, as you might say, and “adventurous” eater growing up. In fact I remained pretty picky right up until I had my youngest son 3.5 years ago. I’m one of those people that can eat the same meals daily without getting bored-consistency and routine was the overarching theme of my diet. After my last baby though I all of a sudden craved spicy food-something I never, ever liked or thought appetizing before. I was making jalepeno poppers and trying new foods left and right. Someone suggested that I might like to try Indian cuisine which I had somehow avoided the first 30-odd years of my life. I was an instant convert-the flavors were so complex and somehow just perfect (see this article about how scientists have figured out why Indian food tastes so delicious!)

Of course once I fell in love with Indian cuisine I wanted to make it at home (save money!) but every time I looked up recipes I would get so overwhelmed with the amount of ingredients or extensive instructions…it all seemed a little labor intensive and intimidating. That is, until I was meandering through World Market recently and came across the food section where they had a nice little endcap display full of tasty Indian spices and a few little shortcuts! I was excited to try them out so I grabbed some Tandoori Rice and Tikka Masala sauce and wrote in an Indian night on my meal plan! (World Market is celebrating the movie The Second Best Marigold Hotel right now with an amazing sweepstakes-read to the end of the post for more details!!)

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Since I was getting a little help with the sauce and rice I decided to make homemade Naan bread to go along with it. This recipe is SO easy and only 5 ingredients! Simply mix up the dough…

…let it rise….

…and cook on a griddle! My boys devour this Naan when I make it-it’s wonderful warm! (yellow batter bowl above from World Market)

Add flour and salt and mix well with a dough hook for 2 minutes. (If dough is still stick add additional flour a few tablespoons at a time until it doesn't stick.)

Remove dough and form into a tight ball.

Spray medium bowl with nonstick spray and place dough ball in it. Cover with a damp paper towel and allow to rise for 1 hour.

Divide dough into 6 pieces and roll out on a floured surface until about ¼" thick.

Preheat electric griddle or large skillet on medium high heat and grill naan for 2-3 minutes per side or until firm with light brown spots.

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While the naan was rising I started my main course-the Chicken Tikka Masala! I chopped 1.25 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast into 1″ cubes. In a large skillet heat 4 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat and saute chicken until cooked through. Add the tikka masala sauce, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes.

When you’re ready to serve your meal simply microwave the Tandoori Rice for 90 seconds and serve the Chicken Tikka Masala over the rice with the naan on the side. Garnish with chopped cilantro and it’s just perfection!

It was good y’all. Super, super good. And fantastic as leftovers too!! I love that it has SO much flavor without being super heavy or caloric too!

So now that we can prepare our own easy Indian cuisine at home without stress let’s talk fun stuff: World Market is celebrating the super fun new sequel The Second Best Marigold Hotel that came out last weekend (I loved the first movie-did you?) with an exciting sweepstakes! In case you missed the hype, check out the movie trailer:

The World Market Best Exotic Marigold Sweepstakes gives you the chance to win an amazing prize inspired by the movie: a trip for 2 to India (6-day trip includes airfare, accommodations and excursions) and free movies for two for a year as well as a {be still my heart} $1,000 WM gift card!! Simply hop over to www.worldmarketsweepstakes.com to enter!!

For more Indian Food and other Global Food Inspiration check out World Market’s tasty delicious food selection! (That would be at the back of the store next to their amazing wine section and beer!

Comments

looks good. looks like a quick tikka masala. I have been following your blog for dew months. everything you up is so nice. traditionally chicken pieces are marinated in yogurt-spice mix for overnight then they are grilled. then they are added to this curry mix. Try it some time. It will be heavenly!- luv from India